Kodokan Judo

Judo, which means ‘gentle way’, is a modern martial art and Olympic sport that descended from ancient Japanese Jujutsu. Created by Professor Jigoro Kano who, after mastering several styles of jujutsu, developed a system to combine ancient battlefield fighting arts with modern sports principles. He achieved this by eliminating some of the more dangerous traditional jujutsu techniques and focused on refining the techniques that could be performed with 100% effort in training without injuring your partner. The result was that Judo became more effective and was able to be practiced by just about anybody. In 1882, Professor Kano founded the Kodokan Judo Institute in Tokyo and it was shortly there after that Judo became part of the Japanese physical education system. It quickly spread from Japan throughout the world and, in 1964, Judo was introduced into the modern Olympic Games. Judo enjoys the position of being one of the most popular martial arts and sports in the world and is practiced by millions worldwide.